‘Batman’ Actor Adam West Dead At 88!

Wow…I SO hate to hear this! Adam West who most of us grew up watching as the iconic Caped Crusader on the classic 1960s series Batman, has died. He was 88. West died peacefully surrounded by his family and is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. West, who debuted as Batman in January 1966 was at the pinnacle of pop culture died Friday night in Los Angeles after a short battle with leukemia, a spokesperson for his family said.

After struggling for years without a steady job, the good-natured actor reached a new level of fame when he accepted an offer to voice the mayor of Quahog named Adam West; how’s that for a coincidence! on Seth MacFarlane’s long-running Fox animated hit Family Guy.

The series, filmed in eye-popping bright colors in an era of black-and-white and featuring a revolving set of villains like the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Joker (Cesar Romero), Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Catwoman (Julie Newmar), was an immediate hit; the Thursday installment was No. 5 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1965-66 season, and the Wednesday edition was No. 10.